Jesus Christ rescued us from this evil world we're in by offering himself as a sacrifice for our sins. God's plan is that we all experience that rescue. Glory to God forever! Oh, yes! (1:3, Msg)
Christ rescued me, yet I often feel entangled by my own thoughts and compulsions that are demanding to be satisfied. Christ set me free, but many times I find myself living in the smallness of a self-focused life. Crabb's words brought tears today, the kind of deep sadness that comes from realizing I've missed God and the freedom He has given.
"Father, I want to know You better. I want to live like Your Son. I want to follow Your Spirit's lead. But I'm still losing my battle against temptation too often and too easily. What am I supposed to do when a favorite desire hits me with addictive force? At that moment, I lose all sense of freedom to do what's right.
"It's as if I'm innocently floating along in the freshwater stream of a good Christian life, doing nothing visibly or consciously wrong; and then without warning I find myself hurtling down a fast-moving river of delicious temptation, heading straight for the falls of misery. I feel no power to reverse direction, no will strong enough to paddle over to my nice Christian way of doing things. And worse, at that moment I don't want to. Flying over the falls seems more exciting than dangerous, more necessary than wrong. The thrill blinds me to the risk. And whatever love is within me dries up. I don't care about anyone or anything else, including You. The only sense I have as I think about You is a guilty anger.
"Standing in Your grace seems more resistible than falling into my selfishness. It feels as if a compulsive force within me takes over my mind with lies, my heart with self-serving affections, and my will in unrelenting strength. Yielding becomes inevitable. And - I hate to admit this - part of me yields gladly with a smug sense of freedom. Father, what's happening to me?
"[God's reply] It's what's happening in you that matters, not what's happening to you. My Son has set you free to make choices that will release you from your compulsions. Only when you see deeply enough into your heart to recognize the corruption beneath the compulsions will you discover freedom. Pray like David: 'Search me, O God...see if there is any offensive way in me' (Psalm 139:23, 24 Msg). There is. You need to see it. Not many do.
"Father, I'll pray that prayer for the rest of our conversation. I want to hear what You're saying to me in Galatians." (66LL)
As we enter Galatians, will you pray this prayer with me, that we might fully enter the freedom to love?
1 comment:
thank you for this post. praying this prayer with you- entering into the rescue and freedom to choose to love and live loved by Him. praying this hard!!!
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